Fruit harvesting mechanism



Sept. 1, 1959 A. 1.. GIRARDI FRUIT HARVESTING MECHANISM Original FiledJune 4, 1956 INVENTOR. flwroAl/a [flu/95AM! 6/2120/ BY Irma/v9 UnitedStates Patent FRUIT HARVESTING MECHANISM Antonio Lawrence Girardi,Stockton, Calif.

Original application June 4, 1956, Serial No. 589,081. Divided and thisapplication February 18, 1957, Serial No. 640,661

Claims. (Cl. 198'139) This invention relates to fruit harvestingmechanism of the general character of the Orchard Apparatus disclosed inmy copending applications, Serial No. 492,433, filed March 7, 1955, nowPatent No. 2,798,623, and Serial No. 570,165, filed March 7, 1956. Moreparticularly this invention relates to mechanism for treating andconveying fruit from the hands of a picker to a delivery station; and isa division of my application, Serial No. 589,081, filed June 4, 1956.

Fruits, especially peaches, are easily bruised; and bruises not onlyimpair the grade and the value of the fruit, but contribute to the rapiddeterioration of the fruit by facilitating attack by spores, fungi, andother organisms which cause spoilage. For example, the spores that causebrown rot in peaches are easily spread from one peach to another; andthe mere contact of a sound peach with an infected piece of fruit, oreven with an area with which the infected piece has come in contact, mayinitiate spoilage which will seriously affect the marketableness of thefruit. At the time a peach is picked, the infection may be so slight asto escape observation by the picker. Still, contact with other peaches,or with surfaces with which other peaches come in contact, may cause theinfection to spread so widely and so rapidly that large amounts of fruitmay be reduced below acceptable standards before the fruit can bedelivered to and graded by the packer or canner.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide mechanismwhich will convey fruit from a picking station to a delivery stationwith a minimum likelihood of bruising and with a minimum exposure tocontact with spores and similar damaging organisms spread by previouslypicked fruit.

Another object is to provide a conveyor which may be extended by andwith an axially and angularly adjustable boom, throughout the range ofmovement of the boom, to safely carry fruit from the point of picking tothe point of delivery.

It is also an object of this invention to provide means for directingspray material (liquids, powder, or gaseous) onto the freshly pickedfruit before it has been exposed to contamination by contact withinfected fruit or contaminated surfaces.

A further object is to provide an extensible belt construction adaptedto minimize injury to fruit, and to permit a wide range of longitudinalextension within a minimum of transverse cross-sectional area.

A still further object is to provide an extensible conveyor beltprovided with collapsible pockets movable over idler pulleys of smalldiameter engaging either face of the belt, the belt being so constructedas to obtain compactness, economy in construction, and efiiciency inoperation.

The invention has other objects and features of advantage, some ofwhich, with the foregoing, will be hereinafter explained in connectionwith the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in theaccompanying drawings forming a part of the present specification. It isto be understood that the invention is not limited to the Patented Sept.1, 1959 structural features shown in the drawings, as the invention maybe embodied in other forms and the structural details may be variouslymodified within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmental side elevational view, partly in longitudinalvertical section, of a portion of a fruit pickers boom equipped withfruit treating and conveying mechanism embodying the present invention;1

Fig. 2 is a fragmental plan view of a portion of a con veyor belt madein accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a fragmental transverse sectional view of the conveyor belt,the plane of the section being indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional detail showing the manner in which thecollapsible pockets move over the idler pulleys; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmental longitudinal sectional view, the plane of thesection being indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

In terms of broad inclusion, the device of the present inventioncomprises an extensible conveyor belt, movable by and with an extensibleboom of a fruit picking machine throughout its range of movement, saidconveyor being mounted over pulleys movable with the boom to take in andpay out whatever length of conveyor is necessary to accommodate axialextension and retraction of the boom. The conveyor belt is provided witha fabric backing having loops matching with openings in the belt to formpockets for the reception of fruit, and said loops being collapsible topermit movement of the conveyor belt over pulleys engaging either theouter or inner surface of the belt. The invention also contemplates theprovision of means for directing spray material onto the fruit as it isdelivered onto the conveyor.

In terms of greater detail, and in reference to the illustrativeembodiment shown in the drawings, the device of the present inventioncomprises an extensible boom of the general character disclosed in mycopending applications above referred to, said boom being designated ingeneral by the numeral 6. The boom is extensible axially, and is movableangularly about vertical and horizontal axes for manipulating a pickerscage or platform 7 about adjacent surfaces of adjacent trees,'as fullyexplained in said copending applications.

Mounted upon and substantially within the boom is an extensible conveyordesignated in general by the numeral 8. The conveyor comprises a stripof material, preferably canvas or equivalent fabric, having its sideedges doubled inwardly as at 9, and having its ends joined to form anendless belt. The conveyor belt is extended over main pulleys 11 mountedupon the ends of the boom, and over a plurality of yieldably movableidler pulleys .12 mounted upon a movable yoke 14, as indicated in Fig. 1of the drawings. The idler pulleys 12 engage loops 15 of the conveyorbelt, the loops being payed out and drawn in to accommodate extensionand retraction of the boom so that the upper reach 16 of the conveyorwill extend from a point near the cage 7 to a delivery point near thebase upon which the boom is supported at any position of the cage withinthe range of axial and angular movement of the boom.

Openings 17 are formed at regular intervals along the length of theconveyor belt 8. As illustrated, the openings extend transversely of thebelt, terminating slightly inwardly from the inturned edges 9. A stripof fabric 18, preferably canvas of a weight substantially less than thatof the conveyor belt 8, is secured to the back or underside of the belt8. The strip 18 is stitched or otherwise secured to the belt 8 betweenadjacent openings 17, with loops 19 matching with the openings to formpockets in back of the openings. The strip 18, and the loops '19 88thereof, is, sufiiciently flexible to collapse and lie flat against theback of the belt 8 as it passes over a pulley engaging the belt.

Spray mechanism designated in general by the numeral 211 istmountedadjacent the outer end of the boom 6 and conveyor 8. The spray mechanismpreferably comprises a pair of spray heads 22 arranged to direct spraymaterial onto pieces of fruit from above and below so as toeffectivelyt=spnay the entire surface of each piece of fruit. The spraymay be directed. onto the fruit as it rolls along a screen or chute 23extending between the pickers cage and the end ofthe, conveyor, so as tosubject the fruit to the spraying treatment before it reaches theconveyor. This treatment prevents active spores from being transferred,from onepiece of fruit to another, or to the surface of; the conveyorbelt.

In operation, the upper reach 16 of the belt extends in a straight pathfromlthe outer end of the boom 6 to its base. Fruit is deliveredv ontothe outer end of the conveyor as it is picked from the trees by a pickeroccupying the, cage 7. Asthe fruit approaches the conveyor, it iscompletely sprayed with material suitable for destroying spores and thelike without impairing the fruit. Any of the approved; commercialsprays, and including dusting powders and gaseous materials, maybeapplied in accordance with conventional spraying specifications. Thespray material may be delivered to the spray head 22 through suitablepipe connections 24, which may include a length of fiexiblehose, notshown, arranged tolpermit the extension and retraction of the boomwithout disturbing the spray connections.

The spray material carried by the fruit is spread onto the surface ofthe conveyor so that fruit touching an area previously touched-by aninfected piece of fruit will not also become infected. This treatmenteffectively prevents spoilage beyond allowable limits between the timethe fruit is picked and the time it is normally reached for grading bythe packer or canner.

I claim:

1. A conveyor belt for orchard apparatus and the like comprising astripof canvas having its ends joined to form an endless belt extensible overa plurality of relatively movable pulleys and having edge portionsinwardly doubled and secured: to the body of the strip for reinforcingthe edges thereof, said strip having transverse openings spacedlongitudinally along the length thereof, and a backing strip of flexiblematerial; secured to the canvas strip with loop portions matching withvthe openings to formv collapsible pockets along the under side of theconveyor.

2. A conveyor belt as defined by claim l wherein the openings are of alength less than the space between the inturned edge portions of thecanvas strip, and the backing strip is secured to the canvas stripbetween adjacent openings.

3. An extensible belt for orchard apparatus and the like comprising anendless strip of flexible material having transverse slot-like openingsspaced at substantially regular intervals along the length thereof andextending across a major portion of the width of'the strip, edgeportions inturned along the longitudinal edgesv of the strip and securedto the body portion thereof. for. reinforcing the edges thereof, and astrip of relatively light fabric material secured to the back of thebelt strip at points between the openings, said fabric strip beinglooped to form pockets matching with the openings and collapsible topermit movement of the belt over pulleys engaging the back thereof.

4. A, conveyor belt for orchard apparatus and the like comprising anendless strip of flexible fabric belting having openings spacedlongitudinally therealong and having edge portions of the strip inturnedto provide reinforced edges along the sides of the conveyor with theopenings positioned between the inturned edges, and a strip of flexiblematerial attached to the back of the belting strip at points between theopenings and being looped to form pockets matching with the openings.

5. A conveyor belt comprising an, endless strip of flexible material: ofthe character of canvas having transversely disposed slotlike openingsspaced at regular intervals along the length of the strip and havingedge portions of the strip inturned and secured. to the body portion ofthe strip along substantially the full length thereof, and a backingstrip of flexible material secured to the under side of the belt stripat points between the openings, said backing strip being looped to formcollapsible pockets matching with the openings: and being movable overpulleys engaging either face of the conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS779,981 White Jan. 10, 1905 1,389,995 Schutt Sept. 6, 1921 2,104,431Marasso Jan. 4, 1938 2,678,125 Bonney May 11, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS27,903 Great Britain Dec. 22, 1908 I l r

